Local Stories
We asked members of the community to share their own WW1 stories with us.
Here are some of them:
The Pocket Diary of Private 48449 Thomas Birkett Yarker
Private Yarker, of the 4th Kings Liverpool Regiment, is the last name on the St Giles Memorial.
Private Thomas Birkett Yarker, who lived at 15 Poulter Road Aintree, near Maghull, ended his embarkation leave on 27th December 1917. His wife and 5 year old daughter Doris waved goodbye to him at Lime Street Station, Liverpool.
From that date he kept a small diary of information of his movements and experiences on the Western Front until he was sadly killed in action just 3 weeks before the Armistice was signed.
From Liverpool he went via Holyhead, Dublin, Cork, London and Folkstone before crossing the Channel to Boulogne, arriving on 3 January 1918.The weather was very cold with rain, snow and lots of mud. There were also many route marches making his way through St.Omer, Hazebrook, Bailleul, Poperinghe and St. Jean before arriving at Ypres.
On Sunday 20th January he went “Up Line” to the front where a shell landed less than 5 yards away. Over the following months he was the Battalion Runner for a short time, (very dangerous), took and passed a signalling course, and trained in the use of the Lewis Gun. He noted the 6th birthday of Doris on 16th October, and on 20th October he took a 1 mark souvenir from a German Prisoner.
The next day he marched 7 kilometres to Croisvilles and prepared for a tough battle to take the village of Ovilliers. Here he was mortally wounded and was evacuated to the field hospital at Awoingt where he died the next day aged 34.
The pages for 24-30 October had been removed from his diary, probably by the person certifying his death.
The diary was returned to his wife and was passed on to Doris who died in 2013 aged 100 years. Doris bequeathed the diary to Simon Rennie who with his wife Molly have transcribed it as best they can. No member of Thomas Birkett’s family have ever visited his grave.
The diary provides a unique insight into the movements of an ordinary soldier from our community in that fateful year.
You can see pictures of the diary and Simon sharing it with members of the local community below. Simon visited Private Yarker’s grave and followed his footsteps as described in the diary a few years ago. He videoed this experience and shared it with Doris. You can see a photograph of Private Yarker’s headstone here too.
Many thanks to Simon and Molly Rennie for sharing this story with us.
PLEASE NOTE: There is a flickable version of Private Yarker’s Diary below this. If you can’t see it try opening the page in another browser….
Mr and Mrs Boyle perusing their family history book
We were invited to the home of Mr and Mrs Boyle in Maghull. One of Mr Boyle’s uncles, Charles Haskayne, is named on the St Andrew’s Memorial. His brothers, Albert and William, were also killed in WW1 and are remembered on the St Thomas’s memorial. You can read more about them here by clicking on the St Thomas section and searching for their names.
Mr Boyle shared memories of his uncles, who were regular churchgoers and attended St George’s Primary School, Maghull. They would walk from their home in Brewery Lane along the canal to school each day. Mr and Mrs Boyle had always believed that the mother of the 3 boys died of a broken heart after learning of their deaths, but after a search through the papers in our historian – Bill Borland’s – collection, it became clear that she had in fact died before they were killed, on 22nd February 1916. Bill was also able to tell Mr and Mrs Boyle that a fourth son/brother, Frank, was injured and lost a leg during the war.
Below are transcripts of two articles from local newspapers regarding the Haskaynes. If you click on the photos they will enlarge.
The Woodward Family
Details about this family came from Matthew, great-nephew of Walter, Harry and Richard Woodward, whose names appear on the memorial:
‘I came across the The WW1 Maghull Project a few days ago and I just wanted to say how touching it was to see the work that has been put into preserving their memories.
My own Great-Uncles Walter, Harry and Richard J Woodward are amongst the names on the Maghull War Memorial.
Their mother Ellen had passed away due to cancer in 1911, so my Great-Grandfather had to deal with the grief of losing three of his sons as a lone parent. So I cannot even comprehend how horrendous it would have been for him and the rest of the family.
My Grandfather, Joseph S. P. Woodward, was one of the six brothers who served. He was with the 1/6th Liverpool Rifles and was awarded the Military Medal as a Stretcher Bearer during heavy fighting at the Battle of Menin Road in September 1917. He was admitted to the Maghull Military Hospital at the end of the war and would remain there until March 1919’
Below is further information about the Woodward family, including two brothers who survived the war. You can download several Word documents from the links below and read all about them.
Company Sergeant Major Richard James Woodward